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Two weeks ago we came up with five options for producing the best New Year’s resolution. After sleeping on it, I decided to pursue option C: “Develop 4-5 resolution options and then sleep on them to produce one.” So, in accord with the option solving technique, I created a fresh question and considerations: ”What is my best New Year’s resolution to pursue, considering my ability to produce 4-5 interesting options, the general economic environment, family circumstances, my current career status, and my point in life?” There were other considerations, but I selected around 50% that were of the greatest importance…see this in our latest example.
With this set, I again produced two framing yin and yang “bookends;” to help my intuition dig out the best possible resolution options. These new ‘bookends’ turned out to be, “Not bother with a resolution at all” and “Have several resolutions and play it by ear.” You will find these in our Latest Example; plus why it would not be a good scenario to pursue these.
Once these bookends were in place, my intuition was now in its best frame of mind to come-up with at least five alternative, more plausible options. Of the five ultimate possibilities I came up with, which you can view in our latest example, I will share one here: “Make some clear breaks for downtime” – Option D.
Now my options were in place, I decided to sleep on all of them to create some emotional distancing. By tomorrow morning, the moment I wake up, my intuition will have done its incredible search through my mental database to make a choice based upon comparable experiences. Once that choice has been made, I will then focus on “Next Steps,” while the whole option solving exercise is still fresh. I can then proceed with my resolution.
If you have an example of your own, please share it with this blogger, through the COMMENTS area. Thanks Option Solving. (NOTE: Next posting in 2 weeks: “Dealing with a staff member’s unprofessional conduct?” Let’s have your COMMENTS or go to peter@ileadershipsolutions.com to connect with the blogger.)

It’s that time of year for everyone to be thinking or talking about their New Year’s Resolution. There are all sorts of myths and stories about this activity, which either add value to the event or disparage it as a waste of time depending on who you listen to. Nevertheless, I will share with you my approach, using option solving, that you can either emulate or use your own approach.
In true option solving fashion I formulate an optimal question with its due considerations. This worked out to be: “What are likely to be my best resolution options for the New Year, considering it’s not easy to stick with them, it’s not easy to come up with one or two that will have the most beneficial impact, and they might lead into bigger scenarios that I can handle?” There were two or three more considerations, but I just selected the roughly 50% that were of the greatest importance…see this in our latest example.
Having produced this, I now created two framing yin and yang “bookends;” so as to assist my more creative intuition find the most plausible options. The ‘bookends’ turned out to be, “Not bother with any resolutions at all” and “Help everyone else with their resolutions,”… as shown in our Latest Example. It will also indicate why these two bookend options didn’t make the most sense.
With the question and the bookends in place, I was in my most productive state to produce at least five alternative, more practical options My intuition couldn’t wait to set work on these because it was so bothered by the less and plausible bookends My five ultimate possibilities are in our latest example and at random I will share one: “Develop 4-5 resolution options and then sleep on them to produce one” – Option C.
Now these five options were in place, I decided to sleep on all of them to create some emotional distancing. However, I decided to “Peel the Onion” instead of working out “Next Steps” the following morning because I wanted to see how things might look with another iteration. Later that second day I did just that and I will share that with you in the next blog session in 2 weeks.
If you have an example of your own, please share it with this blogger, through the COMMENTS area. Thanks Option Solving. (NOTE: Next posting in 2 weeks: “Peel the onion: My best resolution options for the New Year?” Let’s have your COMMENTS or go to peter@ileadershipsolutions.com to connect with the blogger.)